Autumn's Arrival Party

I recently hosted a seasonal celebration to welcome in the cooler weather and pumpkin spice...haha but really, all things fall are welcome here! We had such fun sharing laughter, conversation, and sipping on sparkling apple cider in celebration of a new season! One of the things people usually mention to me is the fact that entertaining can seem intimidating or overwhelming...but the best thing about this party was the ease with which it came together. There's no need to stress out over something this simple! Read along, and I'll give you the step-by-step so you can host one yourself!

Set up your table: Simplicity is best when it comes to imagining a tablescape. Begin with a plaid or tartan tablecloth, and a vase of some floral arrangements from your local farmer's market or grocery store. I personally love Trader Joe's for their beautiful, yet budget-friendly floral bunches. I then added a Pumpkin spice candle, and then set up my place-settings. For this event, a simple gold and white combination was elegant, but not stuffy, so we layered the napkins on top of the plates and set a cream ramekin with a Pumpkin muffin at each place. I happened to have these amber-colored glasses in one of the cabinets at home, so I chose those for guests to drink from, and we toasted to a new season with champagne flutes filled with sparkling apple cider.

Set up your buffet & drink station: This wasn't an elaborate 5-course meal, so the buffet area was a quick set up. We chose to use apothecary jars in different sizes to hold the various popcorn flavors, and guests could fill up mini burlap bags with their custom combinations. Mini pumpkin pies were the perfect finger food, and spiced apple cider or water was available to sip on. I found the majority of the food items at Trader Joe's and also asked some of their employees for suggestions of fun little things to try, leading me to the purchase of the mini pies. (They were so cute and so delicious! Highly recommended!) As long as things look pretty, you really don't need to stress about making lots of things in the kitchen. Pick up a few pre-made pieces, and no one will know you didn't spend hours over the oven!

Gift Your Guests: We decided to paint instead of carve pumpkins, and it was a colorful, glittery activity that made a cute gift for guests to take home. One thing that always makes a good party is a special send-off favor for those who attended. Each guest got a tiny burlap bag with specialty tea and dark chocolate!

Cheers to more celebrations!